The constitutional validity of the definition of “juvenile” under the Juvenile Justice Act will now be examined by the Supreme Court which on Monday agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking that the upper age limit of juveniles be brought down from 18 to 16 years.
There has been widespread public outrage as one of the six accused in the December 16 Delhi gangrape case, who is over 17 years old and was stated by the police as the most brutal among the culprits, is a minor and will be given minimal punishment under the JJ Act.
Hearing the PIL filed by two advocates, a bench of justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said, “The matter is related to fixation of age. It’s a question of law... We have to examine the matter.” The apex court further said it needs to be considered if the gravity of an offence committed by a juvenile has to be examined from his age point of view and whether he should be tried as an adult in cases of heinous offences.
“The fixation of age (of juvenile) should have some nexus with the gravity of the crime or offence,” the bench remarked. The bench decided to hear the matter from April 3 and issued notice to the Centre, directing Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati to file counter affidavits and relevant reports relating to the issue on behalf the ministry of law and ministry of home affairs.
The petition seeks to strike down the definition of juvenile from the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
The petition contended that sections 2(k), 10 and 17 of the JJ Act were irrational and ultra-vires of the Constitution.